Lord Goschen on Friday week at a Conference at the
Passmore Edwards Hall, Tavistock Place, on food prices in relation to poverty declared that England stood in a unique position, since she obtains nearly four-fifths of her food-stuffs from oversea, and yet, by means of her fiscal system, "the British working man can be fed more cheaply than the French or German working man." A hundred shillings in England goes as far as one hundred and thirty in France. If, however, food is taxed, "sooner or later, except under exceptional circumstances, it must affect the price of the article." He also pointed out that the food-taxes, if once put on, could not be taken off without the consent of the Colonies, and therefore in case of national need the other remitted taxes would have to be reimposed. The bargain with the Colonies or with the working man must be broken. More- over, the taxes on food would have to be progressive, as they have been both in France and Germany.
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